Detection of irradiation treatment in crustacea by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy

When the Food (Control of Irradiation) Regulations 1990 came into force in the United Kingdom in January 1991 they included provision for the irradiation of Crustacea to an overall average dose of 3 kGy. The treatment of Crustacea with ionising radiation would reduce numbers of potential pathogens and spoilage organisms thus giving a microbiologically safer product with a longer shelf-life at chill temperatures. At present the process is being used in countries such as France and The Netherlands for the decontamination/shelf-life extension of shrimp. Therefore, as for other food products such as poultry, liquid whole egg and fruit, which are also treated with ionising radiation, it is desirable that a suitable test should be available to help in the control of the irradiation process. One such detection method which has been applied to irradiated Crustacea is that of electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy due to the fact that the rigid exoskeleton has a relatively high dry matter so free radicals produced by ionising irradiation can be trapped and are, therefore, sufficiently stable to be detected. (author)